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A review by rovie_reads
The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
4.0
The Night Diary is a historical fiction set in 1947, during the time when India got its independence from British. The book was told through Nisha's diary where she writes letter to her deceased Mom about her day to day life. She lives in India along with her Dad who is a doctor, his twin brother and paternal grandmother. They were living peacefully until chaos erupted after the said independence when their leaders decided that dividing their country would be the best way to attain true peace and freedom. Her Papa feared of being caught up in all the mess, so they decided to pack their things and cross the boarder towards the "new" India. We follow their journey as they traveled on foot along with thousands of Indian Hindus to seek a new place they should now call home. The journey was extremely dangerous. Apart from making sure they have enough food and rest, they also needed to watch out for violence, as encounters between Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus almost always end up in beating and killings.
It was a heartbreaking yet very inspiring story. Nisha kept on questioning why people in position would allow such thing to happen. Why would race and religion be a factor in separating people? Why can't they all just live together peacefully? Her 12 year old self have been through a lot even when they were settled on heir new home. I love the relationship she shared with her twin and her faith that their family would survive despite everything. Veera Hiranandani drew inspiration in writing this story from the experiences of her own grandfather's family as refugees crossing the same boarders from Mirpur Khas to Jodhpur.
Content Warnings: violence (bullying, beating and attempted killings), death (not on-page), signs of trauma, racism.
It was a heartbreaking yet very inspiring story. Nisha kept on questioning why people in position would allow such thing to happen. Why would race and religion be a factor in separating people? Why can't they all just live together peacefully? Her 12 year old self have been through a lot even when they were settled on heir new home. I love the relationship she shared with her twin and her faith that their family would survive despite everything. Veera Hiranandani drew inspiration in writing this story from the experiences of her own grandfather's family as refugees crossing the same boarders from Mirpur Khas to Jodhpur.
Content Warnings: violence (bullying, beating and attempted killings), death (not on-page), signs of trauma, racism.